Windows Me boot and Windows 2000 boot
Freedom
Windows Me and Windows 2000 along with their common Office 2000 are last ever pieces of Microsoft software suitable for free and unrestricted use, because they are totally free from forcing upon end user any forms of his depending on external controls from Microsoft servers, such as Product Activation, Genuine Advantage, Digital Rights Management and so on, existing in newer software pieces from Microsoft.
Last and final Microsoft additions needed for both proper driver and software functioning in these two last ever control-free pieces of Microsoft software are:
Creating extremely small Windows Me
Windows Me after installing as 98micro with Windows 95 Explorer by using 98lite Enterprise can be manually further reduced to only 5MB with GUI, that exceeds even 98EOS maximal reduction. Very best solution for minimizing Windows Me to such extreme would be using English version of Windows Me, because it doesn't require specific localization files at all. For running extremely minimal Windows Me with at least DOS box on desktop, following files and directories are required:
C:\IO.SYS
C:\MSDOS.SYS - content listed separately
C:\WINDOWS
C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM
C:\WINDOWS\FONTS
C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\MARLETT.TTF
C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\VGAOEM.FON
C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\VGASYS.FON
C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
C:\WINDOWS\PIF
C:\WINDOWS\PIF\COMMAND.PIF - generated by Windows, required for proper displaying of DOS box
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI - content listed separately
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ADVAPI32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CMDNINST.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMCTL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMMCTRL.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMM.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1252.NLS
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDEML.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS\BIGMEM.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS\RMM.PDR
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KEYBOARD.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KRNL386.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MMSOUND.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MOUSE.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PIFMGR.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTEM.DRV
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VFD.VXD
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VGAFULL.3GR
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VGA.DRV - renamed from SUPERVGA.DRV to display 800x600 instead of 640x480
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32.VXD
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WINOA386.MOD
Configuration files listed above must have minimal content such as:
for the MSDOS.SYS file:
[options]
disablelog=1
systemreg=0
for the SYSTEM.INI file:
[386enh]
mouse=*vmouse
[boot]
shell=command.com
Windows Me minimized in that extreme way has only 5 MB in size, and still supports large FAT32 drives, Long File Names, mouse and all MS-DOS applications. File list that builds this 5 MB Windows Me is that minimal, that even removing one file from it can prevent this 5 MB system from successful booting and proper working with MS-DOS programs. This minimal system is commanded to shutdown by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and then selecting Shut Down button in Task Manager. This minimized Windows Me requires temporarily renaming of other instances of Windows directory on other hard drives to something else, because other instances of Windows interferes with current running minimized Windows Me, preventing it from successful boot up. This interference occurs too in reversed way, causing damage of *.INI files in these other instances of Windows.
Windows Me can be even more further reduced to only 205kB with CLI. To do this, following files are required:
C:\IO.SYS - copied from inside of bootable floppy image embedded in Windows Me OEM bootable CD
C:\MSDOS.SYS - content listed separately
C:\COMMAND.COM - modification listed separately
MSDOS.SYS file must have minimal content such as:
[options]
disablelog=1
systemreg=0
COMMAND.COM file must have minimal one-byte manual modification such as:
at hex offset 00006510 byte 75 is replaced by byte EB
For automatic patching of COMMAND.COM, including English version, but too especially non-English versions, WINMEDOS.COM is officially freely available on MFD4LIFE 2000. From all three WINMEDOS.COM patcher's resultant files only COMMAND.COM is needed in this procedure, other two files are totally not needed at all.
To make booting procedure working, IO.SYS should be copied as first ever file to freshly formatted disk.
Creating Windows Me installation with DOS boot option
Install Windows Me
Patch all instances of COMMAND.COM by using WINMEDOS.COM patcher
Install Windows 2000
Copy into C:\ following files:
WINBOOT.SYS renamed from IO.SYS placed inside bootable floppy image embedded in Windows Me OEM bootable CD
COMMAND.W40 renamed from COMMAND.COM patched by WINMEDOS.COM patcher
Create in C:\ following text files:
MSDOS.W40 filled with empty comment
CONFIG.W40 filled with country specific settings
AUTOEXEC.W40 filled with country specific settings
Remove from BOOT.INI [operating systems] section following line:
C:\ = "Microsoft Windows"
Add to BOOT.INI [operating systems] section following lines:
C:\ = "Microsoft Windows Me" /win95dos
C:\ = "Microsoft DOS Me" /win95